Guitar Amps!?!

[benkenobi]

Hey all you guitar players out there or anybody that knows anything about guitar amps. One of my friends is in a band and plays guitar. Here's the equipment he has as of now:

Epiphone Les Paul Model Limited Edition guitar, Rogue CG 30 Amplifier, Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter, Cry Baby Wah, Danelectro Overderive and Reverb, Audio-Tech DR-VX1 Digital Reference Mic

Although, he's planning on getting a new guitar and bigger/better amp for live performances. I'm trying to help him not get ripped off by local guitar stores.

So, I checked out ebay and found a 800 WATT Pyramid Guitar Amplifier Amp NEW for only $79.95 (Buy It Now). The seller has a GREAT rating and says the amp retails at $246.70. Is this a good deal/brand of amp or does anybody know of any good deals?

Thanks to anyone able to help!!!

[marlsy]

I will ask my hubby when he gets home, he is a musician. He has a Les Paul Sunburst with two mesa boggie amps.

[CollectiveSoul]

Ok here we go...

Mesa- Awesome expensive

Marshall-awesome expensive

Fender-Awesome but yo ucan afford some stuff

What i would do is go for a Mesa 4 by 12 speaker and a Mesa Dual Rectifier or Triple Rectifier or even a Single Rectifier which are Amp Heads. Amp heaads are wher you plug in your guitar and where the controls are. The amp head goes on top of the speaker and plugs into the back of the speaker. Mark Tremont iuses this equipment but its good for anything.

[Weathered]

you sure that amp is 800 watts? thats huge.....maybe you ment 80 watts...ok im a drummer but i know pretty much a/b guitars and stuff....my bands guitarist has a 50 watt marshall amp.....it cost 300 bucks and is amazing...we once played a show and he was going to use his marshall and then another i believe behringer stack not sure....anyway it turns out he forgot to turn the stack ona nd played the whole show with just his marshall....none of us could tell until after the show when we saw the stack wasnt on .....so i would go with marshall.....their kind of expensive but definatly worth it...its better to get a really good amp instead of working your way up there and wasting all your money on bad amps

[benkenobi]

I thought 800 watts was also HUGE, but that's what the person has posted on the auction. It has to be a mistype. I mean 200 watts costs a heck of a lot more than what this person wants for that amp.

[benkenobi]

My friend was talking about this 120 watt amp from a brand named Crate. Does anyone know if that's an ok brand? I know its not the best because its cheaper but then again its in my friend's price range.

[Wylde-Tremonti]

I think it's a pretty good ampcompany .... Marcos Curiel of POD uses them and he always sounds amazing..... i also kno that they are a St. Louis Missouri based brand....i dunno if that really matters that much tho......i just thought that was kool cuz that's where i am......

[Weathered]

my friends brother has a 30 watt crate....it sounsd like shit.....but.....ive heard others that sound very good....but other then that i cant say much about crate...dont no much

[marlsy]

Hey Bruthas...This is the Marls Ball and chain.....First of all lets have a little amp tech 101....There are solid state amps and there are tube amps.....A class"A" Tube amp that has a 5 watt rating usually runs 1preamp tube and 1 EL84 OR EL34 tube in its power section and is roughly the equivalent of a 50watt solid state amp....Whenever you go into a guitar shop or local GC...You will always notice that solid state amps are always cheaper than tube amps...Why ?....Transformers and tubes and large capacitors are more expensive to produce than silicon diodes and they ALWAYS SOUND BETTER !!!!DONT EVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE !!....Mesa Boogie does not manufacture solid state amps because they are perfectionists in the art of making tube amps that are hand built..From the first, Mesa/Boogies have used a combination of point-to-point and printed circuit board methods in order to ensure absolute consistent placement of critical parts and conductors. This is one of the reasons that alot of your favorite musicians use Mesa gear.....Mesa Rectifiers in particular run alot different than Marshalls....Mesa's run colder in their power sections and thats why you hear alot of cardboard crunch kind of like Diezel amps do, if you ever listen to Tool..You'll notice a particular cold crunch that Adam Jones gets....That would be a Mesa Recto sound....He likes to run his gain down really low and crank the power section of the amp...!!!!Now Mark Tremonti on the other hand prefers to run his gain up really high and thats where you get that overdriven preamp sound that Mesa rectos are known for.... High Gain Tone Monsters......Now Marshalls are on the other end of the spectrum, whereas they like to run nice and warm in their power sections to achieve a liquid buttery sound and feel and they also have an adjustable bias pot where Mesa's DO NOT.......Both are excellent choices depending on the sound you are looking for...Just remember...You will never make one sound like the other no matter how hard you try..!!!Trust me on this, I have owned many of both...My current rig being a Triple Rectifier.....All other amps for all intents and purposes are derivitives of these two amps(excluding Fender) but including Line 6 Modeling amps....It would take 3 Line 6 high end solid state stacks to compete with 1 Triple Rectifier stack if this gives you any Idea in the difference in the two types of power......benkenobi...I would tell your friend to keep the EPI Paul....and shop around for a fifty watt all tube amp...Crate would be a good choice also as they are a little cheaper but have a lot of balls...You can always slave a 4x12 cabinet to it later.....Try avatar speakers online if you want celestions in a cab for half the price of a Mesa or Marshall cab....Remember... A good guitar player can make a so so guitar sound good but not a crappy amp......Do not buy the pyramid or no name amps !!!Your friend will be sorry in the long run......If your friend has any questions at all let me know and I will help, there are alot of other choices that I have'nt covered.....Michael..AKA HERC of The Les Paul Forum